CRDL Is Dead
by Lachrymose Comedian
Summary: Cardin was supposed to be a leader. He was supposed to be the sole thing kept them alive. But his pride destroyed them, for nothing. With his team crippled by loss, He'll have to pick up their shattered pieces, as well as his own. Will he able to become a stronger person for his sake and theirs? Or fall down even further? Rated T for language, small amount of blood and gore.
1. Pride comes before the fall

_**Hey guys! Here is my third story. I'm gonna start it off with chapter 1 setting up the events to happen and looking at the characters current mindsets!. **_

_**Cardin is going to be a real dickhead in this chapter. I want to start him off at this point then work my way up. **_

_**So tell me how you guys think I did with that. Please review if you liked it or didn't. Even a small one would help.**_

_**Rwby belongs to Monty Oum and Rosteer Teeth.**_

Cardin opened his eyes, meeting a faded white ceiling.

Pulling off his warm cotton covering, he swung his legs over the edge of his bed. The boy winced immediately, feeling a dull ache throughout his body. He gave a quick test to his legs by putting a slight pressure on them, happy to notice that they were feeling better for the most part.

He spent yesterday power lifting to burn off some steam, an activity he often did as a pastime when he had enough of his friends yammering.

"Today's going to be fun." he mumbled sarcastically.

Team CRDL was caught harassing students again yesterday afternoon. This isn't an odd occurrence to anyone who knew the boys. But this time, they were caught by none other than the Headmaster himself. The usually reserved man gave them each a stern gaze before forcing them into his office.

They ended up with, as the professor said, 'extra curricular assignments' in addition to regular homework for their classes.

With a small breath, he hopped on to his feet. Cardin heard an ample amount of snoring, looking to his left; he was met with a familiar sight. His teammates were sprawled out lazily on their twin-sized beds. Pizza boxes, soda cans, and candy wrappers forming a layer of rubbish over the wooden tiles of the dorm.

He chuckled.

CRDL was fortunate enough to get a fairly large dorm in comparison to others. Russel would joke it was do to his leaders large size. It offered enough room to have all 4 beds be a comfortable distance from each other, and provide room for entertainment and decorations.

Sky's dad left them a small flat screen TV, which they mounted on the wall, right above the door. Several posters ranging from rock bands, to movies, to video games, were laid out above the beds. Adjacent to the plain white walls was an extremely large red dresser. It was old and quickly deteriorating, but it served its purpose. Anything they felt was important enough not to be floor junk got thrown in there, to be dresser junk.

Cardin's eyes went back towards his team and his stare lingered on Russel.

They knew each other since child hood, always having each others back. Things have been…different lately. He's been a lot more distant to him, to all of them. Whenever they hang out, it seemed like everything he did was forced. He would joke with them and pretend that nothing had changed, but they knew each other better than anyone. Russel can fool Dove and Sky, but not him.

And then there was all three of them, and the whole thing in Forever Fall where his 'friends' left him to -

He laid a hand on his forehead.

Deciding he spent enough time sight seeing; Cardin shook his head, got up, and walked towards the dresser. Grabbing his scroll and some clean cloths _(wrinkling his nose when he realized, he was still wearing his dirt stained combat outfit from the day before)_,he walked out the door towards the shower area.

"I'll let the fools sleep a little longer" Cardindecided.

He relaxed as music blasted in his ears, one of the many benefits of a scroll. He could care less about the academic uses of it.

He bounced his head to the music.

_*Boom * boom_

_* Cling * Cling_

_Shells ring, when they hit the motha- fuckin floor_

_There I go, losing my mind, pulling my nine, robbing for more mean green_

He let his hand slide through his short orange locks, messing them up slightly, A grin grew on Cardin's face as he watched the fear spread through the other students, as he walked through the hall. All pressed themselves to the halls sides, and he casually strolled down the middle. He has to admit; the power this type of life offers is a good one.

Fear is more powerful than love.

That was one of the many lessons drilled into him by his parents. They were the type of people who didn't operate on openly sharing feelings or having some spiritual connection created by vows. No, It was a constant power struggle between the two. they loved each other for the challenge that was provided.

Who was the leader of the family, of the business, of the village? A long existing family of blacksmiths dating from even before the Great War, the Winchesters were some of the most renowned weapon makers in not only vale, but also the entire world.

And that by itself, gave them power.

His 'peers' below him trembled as he walked into the locker area. His large stature meant that his head almost hit the Grey tiled ceiling, causing a shadow to appear on the top portion of his face. A Cheshire grin spread across slowly, deliberately so. It didn't take them long to haul out of the room. Cardin nodded, smirking in satisfaction, and entered the showers.

The cleansing was quick, and brief. He wasted no time putting on his standard school uniform, and starting to leave towards class. He sent a quick message to his team that would activate the alarms on their scrolls. They were already boned as it was, being tardy wouldn't help.

Then again, he wouldn't mind skipping if it meant he didn't have to wear this outfit.

"I hate this freaking monkey suit!" he grumbled. He desperately wished he could wear his usual armor instead of this formal crap. Cardin awkwardly pulled down on his tie and freshly pressed shirt.

_'Itchy.'_

_(The porkers class)_

Professor Port's class was a bore fest as usual, with the man yammering on about himself in between lessons. Cardin bet half his exploits were ripped off from some adventure book. He honestly had no idea how the man is a teacher or ever teaches anyone anything.

Well, not that he would still listen to him if did.

He spent most of time doodling on a piece of blue lined notebook paper. There was a clown there, a rocket launcher here, and maybe a few racing cars. Cardin always felt the more child-like side of him coming out when he was drawing. Which is why he would sooner throw this is in the trash than let anyone see it.

Having eventually grown bored of the line work in front of him, Cardin placed down his pencil, and looked to the front of the class.

A few empty cages lined the walls of the class. Above the teachers head was a sort of blunderbuss axe. He assumed it was the portly man's signature weapon. A gold bust of their teacher's head was at the front, carrying the same expression that the man always wore. It didn't seem too farfetched to call this a glorified trophy room.

Having enough of that, Cardin took to looking at his classmates.

He could see Velvet Scarlatina down on his right. The weak willed Faunas girl shivered nervously, even when she was just writing notes. Cardin knew he was the cause in a lot of ways, most ways. Velvet, him, and his team have history together.

They were the bane of her _(and really the whole schools)_ existence. If he chose believe the bullshit he spits to save himself the wrath of his teachers, he'd say it's a love hate relationship, that they only joked around with her. If you asked if he ever felt sorry, he'd say no.

He never would.

He didn't care when his old dog gave him a pathetic look when it didn't get everything it wanted. Why would he do it for another random animal?

Cardin grinned; he had found his new entertainment.

He looked around cautiously at the black haired girl on his left side, Blake, and the redhead in front of him, Pyrrha. Both of them shared his history class and both of them where also giant thorns in his ass. Fortunately for him, they were to busy looking forward to pay him any mind.

With, that, Cardin's fun began.

He balled up the doodled lined paper that was on his desk. He softly and subtly crushed it with the grace only a professional menace to society could manage. Another quick check around him, and he chucked the paper at the back of velvets head.

The girl jumped up slightly with a 'yeep'. Noticing the stares of some of her classmates, she blushed before putting her head back down.

"Ehehehe" Came laughs from his sides.

Russel, Dove, and Sky were seated around him. All of them were trying to hold in their obnoxious laughter. Cardin observed that Russell's laugh was uneven, too much breath added to it, like it was fabricated.

His dark blue eyes would glance toward Velvet, having a certain distance to them. His hands were tightly attached together, as if sewn. They slightly trembled. He knows Russel only does that when he is troubled.

Cardin's brow furrowed.

_'What the hell is with him lately?'_

He put it at the back of his mind, deciding he would be talking to his teammate later, and looked at Velvet once again. With another pull of his fingers, and a few folds, Cardin now had a paper football in place of mauled paper. He lined his fingers up and gave a flick with his index. The small triangle hit the girl, this time on the right ear, leaving her to twitch, alarmed.

Her head turned back slightly to watch him with fearful eyes. Cardin offered her a cross between a grin and a sneer.

"Hey Velvy." He greeted.

"C-Cardin" She stuttered. "P-Please stop t-this"

Cardin paused for moment, looked up into the air as if in deep thought.

"Nah."

The girls eyes widened, and tears streamed down her cheeks" C-Cardin, w-why can't you just leave me alone!" Her voice raised shrilly by the end of her sentence, catching the attention of several students around them,

Cardin frowned.

"Calm down freak" he said straight faced" Its just a damn paper ball."

"It's not just the stupid jokes!" she responded in frustration, her ears now standing tall on her head. Her teary eyes, looked at him angrily.

"Its everything you guys do to me! Why are you so cruel?"

Cardin couldn't keep the surprise from showing in his face. There had never been a moment before this were the faunas had dared talk back to him. He could hear the venom under the sorrow in her words.

'_Well, well…she picked the wrong time to be ballsy."_

Cardin's eyes tightened as he responded "You think" he started off with a harsh laugh. "I care if I'm cruel to your kind? You're aren't even worthy of being in the same room with me, let alone breath the same air."

The girl's dark brown hair looked as if it had gone jagged. Tears that had been of anger became tears of sorrow.

"Hey Cardin" Russel uttered from beside him. "Maybe should chill, everyone is starting to look"

Cardin sent a single, annoyed glance his way, before looking around. He could see curious and upset gazes staring in his direction. The professor himself was too involved in telling some bullshit story to a class that couldn't care less to notice. The Blake girl and Pyrrha stared him down.

"Back off Cardin." Blake said. Her yellow eyes were hard as steel, matching her stern voice.

He leaned back casually in his chair" Or what?" he replied with his arm behind his head.

He let out a laugh as she almost jumped out of her chair, stopped only by Pyrrha grabbing her by the shoulder. "_He's_ not worth it Blake, you know that." Pyrrha consoled, sending a glare his way.

Blake, she loved to challenge him on his views. In the beginning he would react by being angry, and trying to intimidate her. That didn't work, to his ire. She would use his anger against him, making a fool out of him.

So he went to using the more passive aggressive route . He would make her look like she was the angry one, while he was in complete control. The bully knew that she hated it and he relished in it, reveling in the fact that she was close to breaking point.

Get inside your opponents head and you will end them. That's the absolute truth.

But more than anything, the redhead loved watching it. Gleefully taking in the subtle rage that would pass through her eyes. He had always been someone who could pick up the little details, and use them to make something bigger, and greater. That's why he was good at what he does.

"That's right Blake." He mocked, trying to impersonate Pyrrha" You wouldn't want to make a scene, not protecting some animal would you?" Velvet was shrinking down while Blake gritted her teeth. If looks could kill, he would be 6ft under by now. A death well worth it in his opinion.

"Cardin" started Russel again from his side, but was stopped by a biting glare from his leader.

He turned back towards Blake, who, for some reason, now had that same annoying calmness that she typically possessed. "You know Cardin" she started off with a smile in her eyes. "You like to say that you think Velvet is worthless and pathetic but what about you?"

He humored her.

"What about me?" His playful indigo eyes challenging Blake's vindictive amber ones. He still had her in the palm of his hand; nothing was going to change that.

A small smile formed on Blake's face." You know why you can only go after people who can't fight back? It's because you're too weak to do it to anybody else" The grin dropped from him.

"The real reason you do this Cardin, is because you a weak, one dimensional, powerless fool. And because you have no ounce of power in yourself you try to take it from other people"

Cardin's face twisted into complete and utter rage.

"That's why your worse than your victims will ever be, because at least they aren't hypocrites like you."

His hands clenched into tight fist.

She casually looked to her hand, while flexing her fingers. "Its a shame really. All that muscle wasted on a pathetic **mockery** of a person."

Rage like no other grew in inside of him. How dare this uptight bitch talk to him like that! Who the hell did she think she was? Calling him WEAK? He had more strength than more than half the pussies in this fucking school.

These people, they feared him for a damn reason. His name is the one that causes shivers to pass through out all their bodies. His words caused them to submit to the strength he possessed. His brawn reminded them why he was at the top of the pyramid.

Oh how he desperately wanted to respond, to control himself, to tell her how much of a stuck up, stoic cow she was. The only problem was that in his rage, he struggled to let _**any**_ words out from his mouth,

Cardin felt his blood boil, as he sputtered and scrambled to respond. He glanced up to see the mocking faces of the other students around them.

They held back laughs as his face turned red enough to match his hair and namesake. Even the renowned Vytal tournament champion had her hand clasped to her mouth, holding back a large fit of laughter from escaping. His team looked between shocked and angered by the brunette's words.

The worst part wasn't them. Not these proles; it was Velvet. She was laughing at him too, holding some stupid, relieved smile on her face. She dared to give this appreciative look back to Blake, who responded in kind. Blake turned back towards him, a smug smile on her face, a twinkle in her yellow eyes, and she winked.

"What's wrong Cardin? Cat got your tongue?"

Cardin jumped from his chair "YOU LITTLE BIT-"

"MR WINCHESTER!"

Cardin shrinked back, and his rage was replaced with fear as the portly professor walked up.

The older mans face was redder than his own. His breathing was jagged, with his eyes bulging out of his head. He could see the veins on his forehead pulsing widely.

Cardin felt the hair on the back of his neck stand.

"For _what_ reason Mr Winchester" The professor began "For what reason do you and your team have to _**interrupt**_ my class in such a way?"

Before Cardin could even think of a response, Pyrrha spoke up. "Well Professor Port," Pyrrha said slyly, looking Cardin straight in the eyes "Cardin was making racist comments towards Velvet, and assaulted her by throwing objects at her head. "

Cardin shook in anger. He felt his desk crack under the vice grip he put on it. "I only threw a pap-"

"Quiet" The professor interrupted coldly. Cardin's eyes grew wide, and he closed his mouth.

"Cardin, you and your friends are to head to the headmaster's office immediately. No detours, no complaints, straight to his office. Ill let him deal with you as, quite frankly, I'm sick of it. "

CRDL let out a stream of protest.

"NOW!"

The team looked at each other, before grabbing their things and moving towards the classrooms exit. He couldn't believe this shit. Cardin sent a glare behind his back to Black, who returned it.

"This is far from over."

She just smiled at him.

(Head Masters Office)

"Am I understood Mr. Winchester? This is your last opportunity to prove to me you have what it takes to be in my school."

Cardin nodded, keeping his contentious eyes to the gleaming, oak wood floor; long learning that the headmaster didn't take well to a student challenging him.

He hated this place.

It was an old styled and sophisticated office: from the gargantuan, beige rug to the ancient, but well kept bookcases along the walls with years of knowledge displayed proudly on them, to the plethora of artifacts older than the white haired educator in front of him; and the mount on the wall that contained numerous canes, placed right above the fireplace. It gave off the feeling of some sort of cross between a cabin and a Victorian home.

He hated the man.

He dared look up after his mere second of thought. Headmaster Ozpin was a properly dressed man. He wore wired glasses over his eyes, had a green scarf around his neck, and attire that seemed both fit for someone who would go to a jazz cafe and a man of business.

Calm and collected, intelligent and articulate, a type of person he didn't want having power over him.

Yet, he's still stuck in this fucking office.

"I understand, Sir" Cardin acknowledged through gritted teeth.

Professor Ozpin gave him a brief warning through his eyes. "Good. You will head out for your punishment tomorrow morning. I highly recommend no more horse play" Hearing Sky _(the stupid asshole that he is) _let out a small chuckle, the professor clarified.

"No more bullshit."

Seeing the boy's eyes widen, he showed a small grin and nodded.

"You are dismissed."

Cardin didn't offer the man a single glance as he promptly got out of his chair and left the room.

He ignored the stares and calls of his team as headed off towards the workout area. Cardin just wanted to be away from them, from all of this.

Students pointed and laughed practically in his face as the boy walked by them. It didn't take a genius to realize word had gotten out about what happened.

He couldn't get this feeling out of his stomach., no matter how hard he shoved them out of his way. The feeling of failure and inadequacy, and emulsion of emotions.

Then there was this annoying, self hating little voice in his head telling him it was all his fault to begin with.

_'You should have left the girl alone Cardin."_

These feelings just grew larger as he held his angry gaze down, realizing there was no use in even trying right now.

If there was every a situation where he need an outlet, a _release,_ this was it.

It wasn't over. What he told Blake, He meant it. Cardin would get her back for this, he swore upon his name. He was Cardin Winchester the 3rd, nobody fucked with him. Blake, Velvet, Pyrrah; Hell, Professors Port and Ozpin, the _**entire **_student body, all of them will burn. This pathetic sting he feels in his eyes will turn into a piercing stab for them.

"**Every**. **Single**. **One** of them" He whispered through jagged breath.

But for now, he would retreat, to seclude himself from the rest of the student body.

And after quick expedition to the red forest the coming day, he would return and they will fear him again.

He promised them that.

(Break)

**So what did you guys think? **

**For the part with the song I wanted to get that typical moment of 'bully walks down hall making people move while hardcore music play'. The song is called _empty tha clip _and was made by _gangsta pat._**

**_I also wanted to go a little more into his personality. Music, Hobbies, using larger vocabulary simultaneously with curses. __I tried to get his admirable qualities like attention to detail and strategy down. _**


	2. Authors note!

Hey guys! Got my self a new name as you can see! 'Lachrymose Comedian'

By reason of me being very busy with a morty of things the past month and going on to next month, i've had little time to update. New job, school, martial arts, sketching, ETC. Its been a load. I'm sorry for taking so long to explain why there hasn't been any new content.

Ill try to see if can get something done next week. I do have the next chapter already planned out, just need to bring it too life.

In the mean time, Take a look at Pondering Fool's story called The Price Of Redemption. It's the best Cardin Fic on the site!

Take care and keep groovy!


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